October 2002 Archives

October 31, 2002

Posted at 10:10 AM

Walking around Salem tonight was completely insane. Costumes everywhere. The photo on the right only captures the top half of the guy’s costume. It was literally 15 feet tall, and his wife had a matching one — where she was a creepy dinasaur looking thing breaking out of an egg shell. Halloween in Salem. Starting tomorrow it’ll be a lot quieter around here.

The murder of Jam Master Jay is just so sad. I can remember Run DMC being the soundtrack to my break dancing days while growing up in Vermont (yes, break dancing in Vermont… I know). They’re regarded as the Beatles of rap — and rightly so.

Maybe BeOS has a future afterall (sort of). The Register reports that Palm OS 6 will be based on BeOS (which they bought last year) and will be released in 2003. I could see Be working wonderfully on a handheld — and you have a whole separate pool of developers that (maybe?) would want to develop again for Palm OS. Interesting. (via shacker)

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October 30, 2002

Posted at 10:10 AM

A couple of weblogs to note: What Do I Know is one I just stumbled on (a nice XHTML / CSS layout), and dollarshort.org, the recently redesigned site of Moveable Type’s Mena Trott (also using XHTML).

Yahoo! has decided to move its server-side scripting tasks to PHP. Makes perfect sense — a language that’s so easy to learn and use. This is big for the PHP world.

Palm’s new Tungsten T handheld looks pretty slick — the slide-out Graffiti area was a great idea. Plus it’s got Bluetooth.

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October 29, 2002

Posted at 10:10 AM

I made some changes to the CSS — you made need to force-reload if the navigation buttons look wacky. The change made the hover on the buttons work for Netscape 7 and Mozilla, as well as cutting a bunch of unnecessary div tags and CSS code.

Salon:

“If you visit Salem today, you’ll find a town so intent on using witch-oriented tourism to revive its faltering economy that it has enlisted such wax-museum-style attractions as Dracula’s Castle, the Vampire Vortex and Boris Karloff’s Witch Mansion, all of which … owe more to Hollywood than to historical New England.”

This is all true of course — but that’s the bummer about Salem, MA. No one realizes what the town offers for the other 11 months out of the year. The town economy looks to be getting better within the past year though. More non witch-related businesses, restaraunts, a brand new museum, improved waterfront, etc.

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October 28, 2002

Posted at 10:10 AM

I am living proof that mp3s can help album sales. I was able to hear the latest offerings from Tahiti 80 (Wallpaper for the Soul) and the Apples in Stereo (Velocity of Sound ) via mp3, and now I’m ready to buy both. Why? Well, I like to have the real thing in front of me while I listen — liner notes, album art/packaging, lyrics, production notes, etc. Having only the mp3 just doesn’t cut it, as if it’s not complete.

Both of the previously mentioned new albums are fantastic — the Apples’ releasing a fuzzed out, almost punkish, but extremely catchy disc. Probably their best yet. It’s nice when you’d expect a band like them to get more experimental as they age put out something so direct and raw.

Tahiti 80 is one of the better live bands out there — their new one is growing on me. More mellow, and more layered. More on them later…

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October 27, 2002

Posted at 10:10 AM

Zeldman redesigns using pure XHTML/CSS. In his post today, I think he hits the nail on the head with regards to Web design: “… we are interested in facilitating ease of use — within an appropriately branded environment that looks good and loads fast.” And further “… For us, the labor of design consists in the proportioning and positioning of only those elements that are needed.” Right on.

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October 25, 2002

Posted at 10:10 AM

Amazing virtual Rubik’s Cube.

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October 24, 2002

Posted at 10:10 AM

Back in August, I told you to take the Google Quiz. I did. And today, I received a damn cool Google messenger bag from the Timbuk2 people. Holy crap, I won! Thanks, Google.

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October 23, 2002

Posted at 10:10 AM

Wired: “… But Shannon Okey has one of the more off-the-wall vehicle theft stories: Someone broke into her car to steal her Apple window sticker.”

Went out to see My Big Fat Greek Wedding last night — a great movie. Just one of the those feel-good films that flows right though the whole thing. We snuck sandwiches in for dinner. Eating a sandwich in the dark proves to be a little trying. What would’ve been better is if we each had a huge bowl of spaghetti. That would’ve worked.

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October 22, 2002

Posted at 10:10 AM

“The World RPS Society is dedicated to the promotion of Rock Paper Scissors as a fun and safe way to resolve disputes. We feel that conserving the roots of RPS is essential for the growth and development of the game and the players.” You have to see this to believe it.

I have an ongoing addiction to using light grays. It was high time I added a little color around here. Text sizing has been moved to the top right of each page. Boy do I love XHTML/CSS layouts.

Last Friday, I went to see the politically charged Billy Bragg at the Somerville Theater. I felt as if I had attended a rally. It was a great show though — just him and and electric guitar (occasionally backed by organ — a guy that used to play with the Faces). Normally I don’t tend to like the in-between song banter, but Bragg is a smart and funny guy.

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October 20, 2002

Posted at 10:10 AM

In the spirit of the recent Wired News redesign, I decided to convert this site to a pure, validating, XHTML/CSS layout. It was a bit of work, but the benefits are enormous. It was a good excercise for me to figure out how it all works — and why it works. There’s still a bit more to clean up, but most of the site should keep validating.

After months of reading about how XHTML and CSS presentation is super cool, I still wasn’t 100% convinced — then Wired came out with their redesign. Here is the first major site to dive head first into Web standards, taking a chance that their users and other sites will follow.

So, what’s the big deal? Well, there’s not a single table in the layout now — this cuts the code down by at least half — thus a noticeable added speed. Complicated nested tables do nothing but hog bandwidth. I, along with others, got used to banging out crazy nested tables to achieve virtually any type of template. It worked, but it’s a complete mess to maintain — not to mention unbearably slow on most browsers. And now, changing the look and feel of an entire site can be done extremely fast by updating a few css files. Older browsers can still view XHTML documents, just not styled the same way — more of a stripped down version of the site. This is probably the hardest thing to come to grips with — the fact that not everyone will be seeing the same exact layout. But, this is fine, and there’s even a message at the top telling them to keep technology moving forward — and UPGRADE. People should not be using 4 year-old browsers.

The time is now… the snowball effect has begun. OK I’m done evangelizing.

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October 17, 2002

Posted at 10:10 AM

Drinking tea is a horrible battle. It’s either way too hot… or half of it gets wasted because it gets too cold. Something needs to be done about this.

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October 16, 2002

Posted at 10:10 AM

Watched several episodes of “The Ship” on the History Channel last night. A great, semi-reality mini series where 50 people travel for 6 weeks on an 18th century replica of Captain James Cook’s ship. The course takes them through the Great Barrier Reef and out to sea to Indonesia. It’s unbelievable how people could navigate in the 1700s without 21st century technology. (Note: the History Channel’s site for the The Ship looks like it doesn’t properly sniff for the correct version of Flash on the Mac. Bummer. I can’t even see the site. Bad bad bad.)

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October 13, 2002

Posted at 10:10 AM

Yesterday, we babysat for our niece and nephew twins while our other nephew got to take in the circus. The picture on the right is what 90% of the pictures I took yesterday look like. A blur. This time, it’s not a result of my shaky hand with the camera. The twins are almost a year now, and they can move. Fast. And often. Fun times were had.

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October 11, 2002

Posted at 10:10 AM

Whoa. Wired News redesigned today — using a total XHTML/CSS layout. They are the first large, high-traffic site to do this. I think from here it will snowball. I’m already thinking about making the switch at work.

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October 10, 2002

Posted at 10:10 AM

The Best Page In the Universe: “This page is about me and why everything I like is great. If you disagree with anything you find on this page, you are wrong.”

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October 9, 2002

Posted at 10:10 AM

Drunk pumpkin. Happy October. (I did not take this picture, but damn I wish I had)

Some very useful web development bookmarklets, like auto-resizing your browser to 800x600, showing table borders, etc.

Time for a cyber cigarette break.

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October 8, 2002

Posted at 10:10 AM

If you use iPhoto and Microsoft Entourage for email on OS X, then download this nifty little patch: iPhoto Mailer Patcher. Instead of using Mail when you choose to share photos directly from the application, it’ll enable you to use Entourage. A great feature when you’re quickly sending off photos from your library.

I forgot to mention that on Friday, we went to see a reunion of sorts for one of Boston’s most underappreciated bands from the mid-late 90s: Flying Nuns. The show at TT the Bear’s Place was fantastic — not sounding like a band who is now spread out across the country. They have a new CD out on Q Division Records that you should get — and more importantly the Pilot EP from ‘95. A gem.

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October 7, 2002

Posted at 10:10 AM

W3C proposes XML encryption standards: “… the W3C’s proposed recommendations will make it possible to encrypt selected sections or elements of a document—for instance, a credit card number entered in an XML form.” (News.com)

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October 6, 2002

Posted at 10:10 AM

Yesterday, we went with my brother and sister-in-law to Boston’s Wang Center to see Lord of the Dance — this turned out to be pretty damn cool. Crazy Celtic step dancing. (Photo is from the train ride home … no pictures allowed at the show)

My brother reminded me that Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) of “Friends” once stated that Lord of the Dance scared the beejeezus out him saying, “His leg flails about as if independent from his body!”

Afterward, we hit a restaurant in the South End called the Red Fez. Excellent food, with a Middle Eastern theme and highly recommended if you’re in the neighborhood.

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October 4, 2002

Posted at 10:10 AM

So today at work we devised an impromptu game involving a four-square ball, a volley ball, a foam fish and a rubber chicken. The game takes 5 people sitting in a circle where on the count of three, each item is passed to the next person as fast as possible. Appropriate music is also played (yodelling or loud classical music). Some experienced players demonstrate superior abilities by “flipping” the fish (or chicken) to the next person in a flashy manner. Images and/or video will hopefully follow.

Crazy pixel site.

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October 3, 2002

Posted at 10:10 AM

At $21.95 it’s way too expensive for a screen saver — but this is the best virtual aquarium I’ve ever seen. OK, I suppose I haven’t seen many, but it deserves a download of the demo.

One of my childhood idols, Tony Hawk, is in a new Apple Switch ad.

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October 2, 2002

Posted at 10:10 AM

The Simpson’s on the big screen? Looks possible.

I now present to you, one of the most important sites on the web: Sock Monkey Island.

Amy’s organic burritos are very tasty. Occasionally I’ll bring two of the bean and rice variety for lunch. Tip: use a paper towel to wrap the burrito before placing in the microwave — if you use a napkin, you run the risk of the napkin sticking to the burrito wrapper. This is bad for two reasons: one, you will probably eat bits of napkin and two, if you attempt to peel it off, you may puncture the burrito and ruin it’s seal. Burrito contents will spill out.

Red Hat Linux 8.0 sports a new interface called Bluecurve. Although some would say its appearance looks a lot like Windows XP. In any case, I’d like to try it out someday.

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October 1, 2002

Posted at 10:10 AM

For so long, I’ve thought the word “website” wasn’t a real word. But, a query to dictionary.com proves me wrong, while the same query to Merriam Webster proves me right. Hmm… I think I’ll continue writing “web site”. It just looks plain weird as one word.

Wired: “… Users could completely overhaul the machine’s interface, sometimes to the point where it was entirely idiosyncratic. But all that has changed with OS X. Apple is trying to close the operating system to tweakers …” My guess is that OS X is still so new — eventually more of it will be opened up. Personally, I like the interface. I’ve gotten used to it, but more importantly it just doesn’t get in my way — as if it’s not even there.

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